The Job
Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) issued by the Labor Department on Tuesday
revealed a 1.1 per cent m-o-m climb in the U.S. job openings in December 2023 after
a revised 0.8 per cent m-o-m advance (from -0.7 per cent m-o-m) in November.
According to
the report, employers posted 9.026 million job openings in December compared to
the November reading of 8.925 million (revised from 8.790 million in last
month’s report) and economists’ prediction of 8.750 million. This marked the highest
figure in three weeks. The job openings rate came
in at 5.4 per cent in December, unchanged compared to an upwardly revised 5.4 per cent (from 5.3 per cent) in the
previous month. The report revealed that the largest increase in job openings
occurred in professional and business services (+239,000), while the biggest decreases
took place in leisure and hospitality (-131,000) and wholesale trade (-83,000).
Meanwhile, the
number of hires jumped 1.2
per cent m-o-m to 5.621 million in December compared to an upwardly revised 5.554
million (from 5.465 million) in November. The hiring rate came in at 3.6 per cent, slightly up from an unrevised
3.5 per cent in November. Hires
dropped in health care and social assistance (-119,000) but increased in state
and local government, excluding education (+35,000).
The separation
rate was 5.365 million (or 3.4 per cent) in December, down 0.7 per cent from an
upwardly revised November reading of 5.401 million (or 3.4 per cent). This represented
the lowest reading since January 2021 (5.164 million). Within separations, the
number of quits reached 3.392 million (-3.7 per cent m-o-m), and the number of layoffs hit 1.616 million (+5.6 per
cent m-o-m). The quits rate was 2.2 per cent (flat m-o-m), and the layoffs rate was 1.0
per cent (flat m-o-m).